I need septic advise

Our well (160 feet deep) is near our property line. Our adjacent neighbor, who lives uphill, apparently has started renting out space to people living in RVs. There is currently a house, 3 RVs and one tiny home/bus at least on the 2.5 acre property.

The RVs aren't going in and out, so they must be tied into the septic. I highly doubt the septic from the little old house is adequate for all the people living there.

What will happen if their septic can't handle it? Will it just flood their toilets, bubble to the surface and flow down the hill, or is there a risk it could contaminate our well?

Thank you for any input.

Comments (10)

All the RVs are not permitted under our bylaws, but truly, I don't want to cause a fuss unless it would impact me.The people living there are all quiet, their children play nicely, and prices are really high here, so I don't want to complain unless it could contaminate us in some way.(and yes- I miss Sophie too )

1. You can talk to your neighbor and say that you are concerned about the situation. Without being threatening, ask if this is a temporary situation - and how they are handling the septic. They may not be aware of the bylaws or have considered the septic issues.

2. Don't talk to them and get whatever enforcement is available to you working on it.

3. Do nothing.

Here's the problem: If you do nothing, you may lose the ability to enforce those rules later. You said "bylaws" which suggests HOA or something other than zoning.

Don't wait until either the septic craps out (pun intended) or the residents become less desirable.

BTW: Get your water tested now for bacterial contaminates and hold on to the results. You may need that to show that the well was fine - and then became contaminated later.

I had a situation where a city sewer line had leaked and contaminated a well. There was no amount of disinfecting the well (did it multiple times) that would clean it up. The city had to pay to connect the home owner to the city water supply.

It is zoning. Each property is allowed 2 homes, but permitted homes would have corresponding septic capacity. The house on that property is a 40 year old 2 bed one bath home, so I presume it has a small, outdated septic field.I really like the idea of having our well water tested now- I think that is smart, and whatever we decide to do, we have a baseline, and can monitor things.Your story is really concerning, re the city sewage contaminating the well. Was it a shallow one? We are hoping 160' might be a bit safer. Is that right?

The one that was contaminated was 90' down at the top of a hill. The area was hilly and the sewers used lift stations. So the lift station was maybe 70 feet then above the water table at a lower point in the topography.

Yes, you should be safer at 160'.

Do you know your neighbors? Can you talk to them?

It's better if you can have that conversation before they get too vested in what they are doing.

It's one thing if they did this and in a few months they learned it wasn't something the could continue doing vs five years later when they are counting on the income, etc.

After asking if this was temporary, I'd say to them that they really need to do what's necessary to make it legit (meaning zoning, septic, etc) or stop doing it. You aren't saying they can't do it... you are saying they need to get legit.

Now, we both know that they probably can't make it legit... but they will figure that out.

unfortunately, I don't think a convo is possible. We live in a rural area, and I think he is here because he doesn't like rules. I don't want to create waves either, unless I have to. If I do, I definitely will not be doing it directly LOL

Thank you for your advice. I had our well tested, and it came back fine. This may be overkill, but I think I will just have it tested again in 6 months or so to make sure there is no difference, and decide how often from there. The testing cost $75- a small price to pay for peace of mind.